ARL Commission chairman John Grant and chief executive Dave Smith will begin their quest to ensure the game has the same access to government funding as the AFL when they meet politicians in Canberra on Wednesday.

The meetings have been planned for weeks and will focus on government funding for a range of issues, from community work to stadium development to providing more resources for the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's investigation into NRL and AFL clubs.

''AFL have done a good job and the funding they have achieved is significantly more than we have achieved, but we are now in a different position,'' Smith said.

''Rugby league touches a lot of people in the community and therefore we have an important obligation to get the game right for them, and I want to make sure we do that in partnership with the federal and state governments.

''The main point is that I think rugby league will be more professional in its interaction, we will want to work more closely with government and me going down is really to say hello, take a whole of game perspective and then continue the dialogue.''

Development of a third major stadium in Sydney's west has been mooted and Smith said it would be one issue on the agenda.

''There is a range of things to talk about,'' he said. ''It will go from community, the mid-range country type of facilities, and then there is the bigger stadium strategy.''